Teacher JacobThe Appositives
Parts of the Sentence - Appositives (Updated)
Learning Objective: This is a grammar lesson. At the end of the session, the participants are expected to be able to identify the appositive, as part of the sentence.
I. An appositive is a word or group of words that identifies or renames the noun or pronoun that it follows. It is set off by commas unless closely tied to the word that it identifies or renames.
("Closely tied" means that it is needed to identify the word.)
Examples: My son Carl is a medical technician. (no commas)
Badger, our dog with a missing leg, has a love for cats. (commas needed)
II. Appositives should not be confused with predicate nominatives.
A verb will separate the subject from the predicate nominative.
III. An appositive can follow any noun or pronoun including the subject, direct object, or predicate nominative.
IV. Appositives may be compound.
Example: The two children, Wendy and Sam, are excellent students.
Instructions: Identify the appositives in the following sentences and tell whether they are appositives to subjects, direct objects, or predicate nominatives.
1. Our leading scorer is Michael, the center and captain of the team.
2. These two students, Kay and Eric, are new to our school.
3. The doctor helped two patients, the boy with the broken leg and the girl with a burned arm.
4. Our neighbors, the Smiths and the Fehers, are moving next week.
5. James loves two games, checkers and chess.
You can make one smooth sentence from two short, choppy sentences by using an appositive.
Example: Ila won the prize. It was a trip to Hawaii. Ila won the prize, a trip to Hawaii.
Instructions: Combine the following sentences by using an appositive.
1. Yesterday I saw an exciting movie. It was called Goldeneye.
2. Mr. Jones will be with you shortly. He is the plant manager.
3. That woman is my neighbor. She is a well-known author.
4. Luis can do almost anything. He is a talented person.
5. Do you want to meet Barbara Jean? She is my lab assistant.